Posts Tagged ‘Local Elections’

We were in our local, the Inniscarra Bar, one of the most authentic old style pubs you will find in the country, part of that dying breed where the walls will talk warmly to you about everyone who has sat there before you and before them.

It was early on a Saturday evening and we were having a sneaky pint before heading home to cook some grub.

The two old codgers sitting at the bar sipped quietly on their pints and every now and then there was some chit chat between them. One of the guys had a battle weary black dog with him who was busy going from one patron to the next, sniffing and being friendly.

For some strange reason there was a large election poster leaning up against the wall for one of the local candidates, Shane Fallon. I’m not really sure if this was a practical joke or if it was a serious election tactic by the candidate?!

Out of nowhere the two men got very animated and their conversation got louder and louder..

“Those f##king posters are a f##king disgrace and they should be banned as they are ruining the environment”

Wow….it went on..

“Sure, don’t they have email and don’t they have the internet and..and don’t they have, you know yourself, can’t they just zap phones the way they do?”

“You are so right, a f##king disgrace!“, followed by lots of huffing and puffing and then back to their pints.

Were they right??

It’s funny …just a few days beforehand I was standing in front of my Dublin Chamber Council colleagues presenting them an overview of our business sector.

To do this I reached out to many of the member companies, both large and small and looked for their feedback about trends in the sector.

A BIG MESSAGE was that there was a huge shift from traditional media to digital but this was loaded with a gentle warning that clients need to be very careful not to put all of their eggs into this one channel as you just won’t reach your audience in a way that your message will land.

As I walked back from the pub I noticed all of the election posters – who do I like the look of?

When I pushed opened the front door open I looked at the flyers that had been pushed through the letter box – who are you and what are you promising?

And if I believe you really care about the location I do expect you to knock on my door and chat to me.

I tweeted three of the candidates who had dropped in their literature and two responded. One just took herself out of the running!

It’s great that the old codgers got so animated about the environment (there probably should be a limit to how many they put up), but unfortunately a candidate who relies only on email (GDPR has that one squeezed to death!!) and zapping phones (I’m taking this to mean social media) will not be successful.

The candidates need to integrate their social media with their traditional media and however they manage it, they need to be recognised, liked and if possible connect in some real way with the voters.

Polling day has finally arrived for all the local and the European election candidates, full of hope and nerves – will you have done enough to convince the electorate in your patch to vote for you?

Has it been about shaking as many hands and knocking on as many doors as possible, has it been about distributing as many flyers and putting up as many posters as possible?

Has it been about working hard in your area on issues that you really believe in and ones that matter to people or has it been about grabbing issues you feel will tactically fly for you in the media and ones that will give you the right visibility?

Has it been about attending events, socials, sporting occasions and some funerals?

Has it been about getting those magic media moments, and performing convincingly when they come along and moving enough people to give you their precious votes?

Has it been about efficient PR, ensuring that the media get to know what you are doing and in turn reaching the people you want to convince?

Has it been about how well you connect with people online, not just over the last few months but over the long haul, is it about numbers of social media followers and your skill in using the platforms to show them who you are and what you are doing?

Has it been about the support of your party and how well you work with your other running mates who often are competitors?

Has it been about the skill and courage do deal with hurtful personal abuse when it comes along and to not let this derail you?

Has it been about intelligence and winning arguments or is it about being ‘nice’ and caring and winning hearts as well as minds?

Has it been about money and having the necessary resources to gain sufficient visibility even if this means some third party assistance and advertising?

Has it been about hard work and the careful execution of a strategy without any diversions?

Has it been about sacrifice, giving up precious personal time to the detriment of family and friends?

Has it been about having a great team to work with you, canvassing and supporting you along the way including family and friends who believe in you and who understand the sacrifice.

Whatever it is, today is the day when you are at the mercy of voters and you find out if what you did was enough to win the race.

Like them or loathe them we need politicians that we believe in at local, national and European level representing us and our needs.

In our democratic society we have the power to vote for our favoured candidates who have put themselves forward to do a job on our behalf using all of their skill, knowledge, influence, intelligence, empathy, conscience, energy, time and motivation to achieve what they believe Is important.

If we don’t like the selection of candidates then we need to do something about it..

A big thank you to each and every one of the candidates for stepping up to the plate and putting yourself forward for election – in truth it’s something most people would not do.

The very best of luck to all candidates and we hope that the worthy winners will execute their new roles with the same attributes and diligence that won their hard fought seats and that they do their utmost to stay true to their promises and do their very best for all of us and not just those who voted for them.